Elastic wheel.



No.- 852,600. PATENTED MAY 7 1907.

1 G. FLOQUET.

ELASTIG WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 14, 1905.

74/ 22,271, e as es.

152/ an i'af.

UNITED STATES T OFFICE.

GASTON F oQ Er, or PARIS,- FRANCE.

ELASTIC WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patent may '7, 1907..

Application filed March 14, 1905. Serial No. 250,068

To all whom zit may concern.-

-Be itknown that I, GASTON F-Lo UET, a

citizen of the Republic Oflfirance, and a resident of 42 Rue de Tocqueville, Paris, in the said Republic, gentleman, have invented sary elasticity without necessitating the employment of a pneumatic tire and which at the same time is suitable for the application thereto of a tire that is'not sub ect to side slip.

This wheel consists of two concentric rims or fellies, one of which'is rigidly connected to the nave, while between the two rims are interposed blade springs which are mutually independent, and quite free in their fiexure movements but co-acting owing to the fact that the outer rim against which the end of each blade springbears is formed as a band of leather or other supple and at the same time strong material. Eachspring bears freely at one of its ends against a fixed point ofthe outer rim, while its other end is-susceptible ofa certaindisplacement along the. periphery of the inner rim limited however by a stop on the said rim. There are several series of circularly arranged blade springs, three for, example in the width of "the rim,

which are arranged "parallel and comprise eachthe same number-of sprin .s, 'the'springs," in one series areall inclined int c same dire tion and the springs of the adjoining series are inclined. in the oppositedirection, so"

that a kind of elasticlattice is formed -be-' tween the two rims. Byreason' of this atrangement the strain is "distributed over a great number of springs, and that even under axes of articulation. a v t Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing isa P according to this invention and Flg, 2 a' verends slide between, the inner rim b and the the most unfavorable conditions, that'is' to say when the tread or point of contact be-' tween the wheel and the road is between two side elevation of a' Wheel constructed tical cross section on the line .Ai-[A"Fig. 1.

"leather thinner than the hoop h.

The inner rim (1 may for instance be of wood and umted to the nave by means of wooden SPOliQS; it is encircled by a metallic hoop b wnich is provided with lugs 61 the use This 1 of which will be described farther on. Hoop b hasperipneral l'langes which form guides for the blade springs that are kept in place by small cross pieces f which pass through the lugs d and may also be fixed by the screw bolts 0.

The outer rim g is composed of a thick hoop h ofleather by. preference chrome leatner,- upon which is mounted a rubber hoop t" and upon that again a hoop 5 0f These three thicknesses (if the hoop materials are fixed together on the periphery by means of screw bolts l which also serve tofix the chair plates that receive one of the ends of the blade springs as hereinafter to be described;

Upon the hoop j is fixed another narrow leather hoop la, the two hoops being-united by rivets m, with projecting neads, forming an anti-side slipping device; the rubber band t keeps the hoop h from contact with the heads of the rivets.

Upon the hooph are arranged equidistant metallic plates'n fixed by the aforesaid screw bolts Z. These plates are cast with chairs, three in the example shown; wherein the lower ends of the springs rest and which have horns 0 to keep the springs from vertical dis placement, and lugs p to keep them from lateral displacement. It will be seen that the curved springs q and q simply have their bearings in the chairs and can oscillate as if 'theywere hinged. Their upper part comes betweenthe hoop band the aforessaid cross pieces and the movement of their inner ends is limited by the stops 1' on the hoop b.

1 The springs g of the'iirst and the third series' incline the same direction, as shown, wh1le'the sprmgsg of the intermediate serles incllne in the oppositedirection. These latter have at their free end an elongated slot through which the screw bolt 0 passesfreely and-"permitting the spring to freely move ""du-rmgits deflexion. As will be understood from Fig. 2- the openings in the three chairs .on each platen are directed alternately to the front and to the rear. according to the directions of the springs in their respective chairs.

During therotation of the wheel, when the springs nearest the tread deflect, their free freely-till it meets a fixed stop, said springs 1 being inclinedin the same direction inveach set but inclined in the opposite direction in the two adjoining sets I v 2. An'elastic wheel, comprising two. concentric rims, a plurality of independent spring-blades inounted'in parallel series be tween said rims and inclined in one direction, and aseries of oppositely inclined independent'blades interposed between the aforesaid series. j

3. A11 elastic wheel comprising a rigid rim,

t a. flexible concentric rim, a plurality of independent curved spring blades rectangular in t cross-section mounted in serles between said rims,- and bearings on the rims for the ends of i the blades. a v

- 4. 'An elastic wheelcomprising a rigid rim,

a guideway formed on the periphery of said rim, an outer concentric rim, a plurality of .bearings mounted on the inner face of the latter, a plurality of curved spring-bladeseach of which has one of its ends mounted in one of said bearings and its other end mountedin said guide-way.

5. An elastic wheel comprising a rigid rim, a guide-way formed on the periphery of said IlIIl, anouter concentric flexible rim, a plurality of bearings mounted on the inner face vof the latter, a plurality of curved spring blades each of which has one of its ends piv: oted in one of said bearings and its other endin the latter for each of said blades.

6. An elastic wheel comprising a rigid rim,

mounted in the guide-way, and an abutment I a plurality of peripheralguide-ways formed in the rim, a concentric'laminated flexible rim surrounding said rigid rim, a plurality ofv hearing plates mounted on theinner' periphery of the flexible ,rirn, {laterally mounted spring-blades pivoted on'each of said plates inclined in one direction and slidable in said guide-ways,-spring blades pivoted-on each of said platesbetween the aforesaid blades and inclined inan opposite direction, and abutments in the guide ways to engage" the springs. a

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

GASTON FLOQUET. Witnesses CHARLES ASH, ALcInE FABE. 

